Enrollment

How to spell enrollment

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce enrollment

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enrollment mean?

1. nounThe act of officially signing up or being registered for a course, programme, or service, or the number of people so registered.

Enrollment in a sentence

• The college reported a sharp rise in enrollment this autumn.

• Online enrollment for the training course closes at the end of the month.

Where does enrollment come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the medieval practice of recording names on a roll, a long strip of parchment that was literally rolled up for storage. The verb behind it, 'enroll', came into Middle English from the Old French 'enroller', built from 'en' meaning 'in' and 'rolle', a roll or scroll, and that 'rolle' goes back to the Latin 'rotulus', a 'little wheel' and so a small rolled-up document. To enroll someone, then, was originally to write their name onto the official roll. English added the noun-forming suffix '-ment', borrowed long ago from Latin through French, to produce the abstract noun for the act or state of being signed onto such a list. The American spelling keeps the doubled 'l' from 'enroll', which is the very trap that confuses writers who picture the British 'enrolment' with its single 'l'.

How the word is built

• en- (in, to put into)
• roll (a register or list, from a rolled parchment)
• -ment (noun-forming suffix)